Sean Roman ‘The Moan (MANIK, Waifs & Strays remixes)’

In the words of Britain’s foremost dance music critic, Alan Partridge, whilst quoting Welsh rock n roll type Shakin’ Stevens, this really is “lovely stuff”. A brand new London imprint (born from events of the same name at the 93 Feet East venue) kicks off with a release from Sean Roman, who’s already involved with one of Plain & Simple’s favourite labels, My Favourite Robot. That’s it’s stylistically in the same vein, and comes with a remix from one of our number one new artists of last year, MANIK, just about seals the deal.

A lugging beat and electro edges define The Moan in its original guise, welcoming harmonious vocals and twinkling cosmic bleeps as it steps out of the starting blocks. Bocuse is similarly built on the e-word, though this time takes on more of a building vibe as filtered synth melodies play out over the top of a stabbing baritone and punchy percussion.

MANIK takes things further into the future with his remix of The Moan, merging a lunging bassline with those auto-tuned “you” vocal moments, creating something that sounds somewhere in between UK funky and Andrew Weatherall. Finally Waifs & Strays serve up the smoothest of all with their take on the same track, increasing the emphasis on strings and a staccato Korg organ to create a timeless piece of lush but dirty house music.

What highlights can I expect to hear?

MANIK’s re-working probably steals the show, simply because it’s got the best b-line of them all. That said the original workout isn’t bad, either.